Well guys, thanks for all of your help in the last few days I couldn't have gotten as far as I have without your help - I found the blown fuse by the battery (thanks goofnrox & Steckman ) and got my fuel system going (although my F/P guage reads 0 - I dropped it and I think it might be busted)

So I tried again to start it and all it did was back fire and sputter and then a few small carb fires (easily smothered with a rag, although I felt better knowing I had that extinguisher nearby - ((Good call StreetIron)).

A buddy who used to do a lot of wrenching on older cars was there and said he thought the timing was off - guessed that I had the dissy on the wrong tooth - I know I had the dist. on the same tooth as the old one (rortor was pointing the same way) but then it occurred to me that the #1 plug might have been in a different place on the old dist. So i will pull #1 spark plug and double check all that...but.....

Here's my question (finally) - when we put the motor together we made sure the cam and crank 'dots' were lined up almost perfectly (no, we never degreed it) - but when we put the balancer on the mark was at about 10 o clock - I asked the mechanic I it shouldn't be straight up, and he said 'no, sometimes they shiftaround the rubber). So now I'm wondering how I'm going to find TDC or set the timing.....

 

If you put the timing gears dod to dot, you are 180° off, at least your symptons sure sound like it. Dot to dot is #1 TDC, yes. But there are 2 TDC positions per combustion cycle. If it is dot to dot TDC on #1, the exhaust is just closing, and the intake is just opening. #6, however, is on TDC combustion, ready to fire. (Dot to dot, is both #1 and #6 TDC. But #6 is firing). The easiest thing to do now is just reset it all.

Remove the power supply to the distributor via the battery connection at the distributor itself. Remove the #1 spark plug. Put your finger over the hole and have a friend bump the starter over. As soon as you feel pressure build behind youre finger, as if its trying to be pushed off, slow down and bring the balancer to TDC. Now drop the distributor in and line the cap and rotor up to #1 cylinder. Hook everything back up and you should fire right up. Then just break out the timing gun and you should be good to go.

 

Thanks steckman, but I'm still wondering about that mark on the balancer - is it a problem that it wasn't pointing up when the 'dots' were lined up on the cam and crank gears?

 

Pointing "up" as in 12 o'clock or "up" as in corresponding to TDC on the timing pointer. When the dots on the cam sprocket and crank gear are lined up, the timing tab should be lined up, or very close to lined up, with the scribed mark in the balancer.

Unless the interia ring on your balancer is slipping, then its possible that the mark is off. But thats a whole new story.

 

Steckman - someone today told me that the cam and crank dots do not neseccarily line up at TDC - but you're saying that it does - I guess I'll stick a screwdriver in the plug hole tonight and see where the mark is the it's at least close to the top...

It is definitely possible that the outer ring of the balancer has slipped around the rubber ...if so then what?.....

 

Dot-to-dot is TDC - no other way to do it.

However, as stated, dot-to-dot is not #1 firing position. That puts the cam in the #6 firing position.

Take the distributor out, point the rotor 180 degrees from where it was when you took it out, and try again.

Some dampers have the mark so it will be at 12 o'clock at TDC. However, as also previously stated, the timing tab will also be at 12 o'clock if that's the case. Unless you've done a mix & match of damper & timing tab.

Otherwise, the mark should be at about 1:30 at TDC.

 

Yea dude, it definitely sounds like your 180 degrees out. Do what five7kid said. Oh, by the way. Remember how i said I was in the same boat you were? Well I got my fuel pump to run constantly but bypassing the oil press switch at the switch itself. I stuck a steel wire into the pos and neg of the switch, and it got it run. This is only temporary of course, but it allowed my engine to run for the 30 min it needed to set the cam. After that I drove it, but a friggin' nut came off one of the exhaust rockers and screwed it all up. no damage to any parts, but i've gotta work that out now.